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Go onto this website and explore to get an overview about what we will learn about in this standard.

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American Civil War Museum - Exploring the unparalleled significance of the Civil War

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The American Civil War Museum is more than a collection of artifacts, we are educators and storytellers connecting the Civil War and its legacies to current culture.

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A worksheet to better understand life on both sides BEFORE the Civil War

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VS.7a Part 1 Differences between Northern & Southern States STUDENT NOTEPAGE

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Use this graph to understand how Lincoln winning this election was a contribution to the beginning of the war.

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The United States presidential election of 1860 set the stage for the American Civil War. The nation had been divided throughout most of the 1850s on questions of states' rights and slavery in the territories. In 1860, this issue finally came to a head, fracturing the formerly dominant Democratic Party into Southern and Northern factions and bringing Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party to power without the support of a single Southern state.

Hardly more than a month following Lincoln's victory came declarations of secession by South Carolina and other states, which were rejected as illegal by the then-current President, James Buchanan and President-elect Abraham Lincoln.

Welcome: Minnesota and Oregon become states during this election cycle

Original 13 States control fewer than 50% of total Electoral Votes for first time

Lincoln received only about 40% of the popular vote in a divided nation on the brink of Civil War

New Jersey: Douglas won the popular vote on a Fusion slate comprised of 3 of his electors and 2 each for Breckinridge and Bell. Apparently - the history is a bit murky - some voters received a ballot with seven Douglas electors, taking votes from the Breckinridge/Bell electors. Bottom line - the 3 Douglas electors on the Fusion slate received the most votes, while the most votes for the four remaining spots went to Lincoln's electors.

Issues of the Day: Slavery (Dred Scott decision, Secession)

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The United States presidential election of 1860 set the stage for the American Civil War. The nation had been divided throughout most of the 1850s on questions of states' rights and slavery in the territories.

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This GIF shows you which states were slave states, and which were not. Study it to understand the geography!

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Read this article and answer the questions to understand how the civil war started.

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The Confederation of the United States

Confederate Flag
by William Porcher Miles

History >> Civil War

In February of 1861 many of the states in the southern part of the United States decided to form their own country. They called it the Confederate States of America. However, the northern states did not agree that these states had the right to leave. This started the Civil War.

South Carolina Secedes

The first state to leave the United States was South Carolina on December 20, 1860. When a state leaves a country it's called seceding. This means they didn't want to be a part of the United States any more and wanted to make their own government. By February of 1861 a number of states had seceded including Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. Later, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, andArkansas would join them.

When the Southern states actually seceded and formed their own country, Abraham Lincoln and many others were shocked. They didn't think that the states would really leave. When President Lincoln became president he was determined to reunite all the states under one government.

Map of the Confederate States of America
by Nicholas F.
Click to see larger view

Why did the Southern States leave?

There were a number of reasons why the Southern States wanted to leave. A few of the major reasons were:

State rights - The leaders in the South wanted the states to make most of their own laws. In the North, people wanted a stronger national government that would make the same laws for all the states.

Slavery - Most of the Southern states had economies based on farming and felt they needed slave labor to help them farm. The North was more industrialized and much of the North had made slavery illegal. The South was afraid that the Northern states would vote to make slavery illegal in all the states.

Western States - As there were more and more western states added to the growing United States, the Southern states were worried that this would mean less power and voting rights.

Abraham Lincoln - When Abraham Lincoln was elected president, it was the final straw for the Southern states. Lincoln was against slavery and wanted a strong federal government, two things the South did not agree with.

Jefferson Davis
by Brady National Photographic
Art Gallery

Who led the Confederation?

The President of the Confederation was Jefferson Davis from Mississippi. The Confederation had its own set of laws called the Confederate Constitution. Military leaders for the Confederation Army included Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and James Longstreet.

The Confederation acted like an official government. They had their own money, their own capital city (it was first in Montgomery, Alabama and later in Richmond, Virginia), and they tried to form alliances with foreign countries like Britain and France. Britain and France did not recognize the Confederation as a country, however. Neither did any other foreign country. Not having allies hurt the Southern states in the end.

Activities

Take a ten question quiz about this page.

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Overview Major Events Civil War Life

People Battles

Works Cited

History >> Civil War

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Civil War for Kids: The Confederation of the United States

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The Confederation of the United States Confederate Flag by William Porcher Miles History >> Civil War In February of 1861 many of the states in the southern part of the United States decided to form their own country. They called it the Confederate States of America.

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Read this article to learn just a little about a soldier during this time.

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The Underground Railroad: Escape from Slavery

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The Underground Railroad: Escape from Slavery

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Help slaves escape to freedom through this game!

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To help you use this online activity in your classroom, see the:

Curriculum connections for this online activity include:
American History:
Slavery, Underground Railroad, Abolitionists and Harriet Tubman, Civil War
Language Arts:
Critical reading, Writing historical fiction, Decoding/Word identification,
Geography:
Map skills

For a wealth of student activities and resources about the Underground Railroad, see:

Slideshows
Slideshows of important themes in American history with images and audio.

Activities
Activities, online and offline, that investigate the people, places, and events of the 1800s.

Primary Sources
Primary sources like interviews, photographs, and posters to help understand this historic time.

Try these great Harriet Tubman printables,
for FREE

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The Underground Railroad: Escape From Slavery Student Activity | Scholastic.com

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To help you use this online activity in your classroom, see the: Curriculum connections for this online activity include: American History: Slavery, Underground Railroad, Abolitionists and Harriet Tubman, Civil War Language Arts: Critical reading, Writing historical fiction, Decoding/Word identification, Geography: Map skills For a wealth of student activities and resources about the Underground Railroad, see: Slideshows Slideshows of important themes in American history with images and audio.

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This short video explains what soldiers would do when they had down time.

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Watch this video to understand more about how the Underground Railroad worked, and also about abolitionists.

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Abolitionists and the Underground Railroad 4 minutes

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Reconstruction: Aftermath of the Civil War

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Reconstruction: Aftermath of the Civil War

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This video teaches you about the end of the Civil War.

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Reconstruction: The Civil War in Four Minutes

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Join Caitlin Verboon of the University of Maryland as she discusses the difficulties that a divided nation faced after the conclusion of the American Civil War and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

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Look at this picture. What are the people doing? How do you think they feel?

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A short word search to remind you of some vocabulary!

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This interactive map will help you learn about each battle during this Civl War!

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This incredible map allows students to click on any of the battles in the Civil War to learn about their significance.

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This picture might have been what the end of the civil war fighting could have looked like.